But to be fair, Darian did have a point.
Bruce knew clearly in his heart that that plan was a double-edged sword.
In his own hands, it was insurance; in the hands of an enemy, it would be a disaster.
After all, he had even written up a contingency plan for dealing with himself—the kind that aimed to drive himself to the brink—focusing on treating everyone equally.
To prevent this worst-case scenario from happening, he had to formulate a plan for the counter-plan.
But that still wasn't secure enough.
Because the enemy might also steal the plan for the counter-plan.
So, to be safe, it was better to keep another ace up his sleeve and formulate a plan for the plan for the counter-plan, or better yet, keep a few more tricks up his sleeve and formulate a plan for the plan for the plan for the counter-counter-counter-plan...
In short, Batman always had a PLAN B.
If PLAN B wasn't enough, there was PLAN C, PLAN D, PLAN E...
Bruce finalized the framework for this nesting-doll plan in his mind at lightning speed, while his expression remained unchanged.
"You didn't come to me just for this, did you?"
"Of course not."
Darian said cheerfully, "I'm here to ask you for some things."
"What things?"
"Many things. For example, Scarecrow's Fear Gas formula, Bane's Venom formula, Poison Ivy's toxins, and so on."
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "What do you want these things for? They shouldn't be of any use to you, right?"
He didn't think Darian needed these external items.
For an existence capable of going head-to-head with the Angel Gabriel and the Son of Satan, messing with these fancy tricks was completely superfluous.
"Can't I just like collecting them?"
Darian really didn't need them, but that didn't mean his subordinates didn't.
His future legion would be expanding its territory across the Universe, so stocking up on useful items was never a bad idea.
Bruce shook his head decisively. "I don't have them. Those are dangerous items and have all been destroyed."
"One bottle of life potion."
"However, the destruction might not have been thorough at the time. Let me check; there should be some left."
"Hehe, pleasure doing business with you."
The two old schemers shook hands, instantly concluding an evil transaction.
After the transaction was completed, Bruce stopped paying attention to Darian and went about his daily work.
Dense surveillance footage appeared on the screens, automatically cycling through real-time images of various areas in Gotham City, from business districts to slums, from the port terminals to the underground drainage systems, covering almost every corner of the entire city.
Whenever any crime occurred, the surveillance system would sound an alarm and automatically pull up the corresponding surveillance footage.
Darian watched from the side for a moment and couldn't help but remark, "I'm afraid you have more cameras than the Gotham City Police Department. Have you cornered the entire security monitoring market in Gotham all by yourself?"
Bruce ignored him and continued to check the various screens.
Among them, the surveillance interface for Arkham Asylum was particularly exaggerated.
As a key area of focus for Bruce, the number of cameras in that place was in the hundreds, to put it mildly. Except for private areas like restrooms and bathrooms, it was covered in every direction without blind spots.
No wonder that when the riot happened that night, Bruce arrived at the scene faster than the Gotham Police. It turned out the prisoners had always been living under his surveillance; every day was a live broadcast.
Besides Arkham Asylum, many locations that Bruce considered potential hazards were also surrounded by numerous cameras, marked eye-catchingly with red borders on the interface; even the Gotham City Police Department was prominently listed.
Good grief, installing cameras inside the Police station—Bruce wasn't just a "Law Zhang San" anymore, he was a "Law Madman."
Darian suddenly caught sight of a key surveillance area marked with a red border and immediately chuckled.
"Well, well, Batman, you're quite the pervert, installing cameras inside someone else's home. Don't tell me you're trying to peep on some hostess. I never expected you to be this kind of Batman."
Bruce's mouth twitched. "You're overthinking it. This is just the residence of a dangerous character."
"What dangerous character in Gotham is worth you installing so many cameras? Could it be the Joker..."
Halfway through his sentence, Darian suddenly stopped.
Why did the layout of the house in the surveillance footage look more and more familiar?
Soon, a familiar figure appeared on the surveillance screen. Selina was sitting on the sofa in the living room, happily admiring her stolen... picked up, expensive collection.
Darian's face turned black.
Isn't this the new house he just bought!?
"As expected of the naturally evil Bat-boy; he's simply impossible to guard against!"
The first thing Darian did upon stepping into his house was to dismantle all the hundreds of surveillance devices inside.
According to Bruce, these cameras were installed before he joined The Seven. At that time, he had been wary of Darian, but now he trusted Darian completely, just as he trusted Clark and the other members of The Seven.
As for why he hadn't removed these surveillance devices...
That was because there were too many things to deal with later, and he had forgotten. It was purely a historical legacy issue and had nothing to do with trust.
Bruce spoke with reasonable arguments, but Darian didn't believe a single punctuation mark of it.
After extorting a bunch of benefits from Bat-boy, Darian finally returned home, satisfied.
Fortunately, Bruce, that perverted voyeur, hadn't lost his mind enough to install cameras in the bedroom. The benefits that Selina usually dispensed were still for his eyes only.
It took Darian quite some time to finish dismantling all the surveillance devices in the house.
When he returned to the living room and saw that silly cat Selina still obsessed with that pile of collectibles, he instantly became infuriated.
"How are you watching the house? Do you know a thief broke into our home?"
Selina looked innocent.
She was a cat, not a dog; guarding the door wasn't in her professional scope.
But Darian didn't care about that. Ignoring Selina's wailing, he confiscated her pile of precious collectibles as punishment.
Originally, he had wanted to confiscate The Seven gems Selina hid in that four-dimensional pocket on her chest, but considering the differences between men and women, he ultimately gave up on that idea.
As for why he knew precisely that there were seven gems, don't ask; if you ask, it's just a guess.
At this moment, Darian's phone suddenly rang. It was an unknown number.
Darian answered, and a familiar voice came from the other end: "Officer Darian, it's me, Cobblepot."
Darian chuckled, "Little QQ, did you finally get released?"
The Penguin had long since become desensitized to this nickname; anyway, it sounded much better than the title "The Penguin."
"That's right. I pulled some strings and finally got bailed out."
The Penguin's injuries hadn't healed yet. He had originally wanted to stay in Arkham Asylum for a while to recuperate and, incidentally, avoid that evil Batman, lest the other party find some excuse to beat him up again.
However, his personal bodyguard, Killer Croc, had just been suddenly taken away by a black woman.
Without Killer Croc's protection, the looks from his fellow inmates immediately became suspicious.
To avoid being bullied by his fellow inmates, The Penguin made a prompt decision and utilized every connection he could to get bailed out as quickly as possible.
And the first thing he did after getting out was to call Darian.
"Officer Darian, do you have time tonight? I'd like to treat you to a meal, right here at the Iceberg Lounge."
The Penguin's attitude was very respectful, completely lacking the airs of a crime lord.
Not to mention that Darian had the shorty's joy he wanted most, just the feat of slaughtering half of Arkham Asylum and instantly killing the supervillain Mr. Zsasz was enough to make him lower his posture to the minimum.
[NPC Oswald Cobblepot has issued a new quest to you]
[Quest: QQ Invitation]
[Objective: The Penguin wants to seek your help. Go to the Iceberg Lounge for the appointment.]
[Reward: EXP + 500, Random Item * 1]
The reward wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Darian readily agreed, "Sure, I don't have any plans tonight anyway. Let's meet at eight at... ahem, eight o'clock at the Iceberg Lounge."
The Penguin's tone became joyful. "That's great! I'll be waiting for your arrival at the Iceberg Lounge at any time. If it's inconvenient for you, I can send a car to pick you up."
"No need, I'll go there myself."
Darian hung up the phone and said viciously to Selina, "Watch the house well. If you let a little thief into the house again, especially that evil big bat, I will confiscate all seven of your gems."
Selina clutched her chest tightly with both hands and nodded repeatedly.
She was genuinely scared.
Several large handprints were still left on her four-dimensional pocket, and they wouldn't fade away.
Eight o'clock in the evening, Iceberg Lounge.
Before Darian even reached the entrance, several men in suits and sunglasses trotted up to greet him, their attitudes extremely respectful. There were no scenes of them looking down their noses at him, nor any short-sighted attempts to block his path for questioning.
The Penguin had issued a strict order in advance; everyone knew this person was the honored guest for tonight.
Anyone who dared to cause even the slightest bit of trouble was guaranteed to become a human-shaped concrete pillar at the bottom of Gotham Harbor by tomorrow.
Darian walked into the hall and saw that the entire club had been cleared out. In the vast space, there was only one table set up in the very center.
The Penguin was sitting by the table, wearing his signature tuxedo. As soon as he saw Darian enter, he stood up and opened his arms, letting out a hearty laugh.
"Officer Darian, my dear friend! Long time no see. Quick, quick, sit down, sit down!"
Darian walked to the table. Before he could move, a group of long-legged women dressed in revealing outfits, with curves more dramatic than the stock market, rushed up from both sides.
They were busy moving chairs and setting the tableware, and there were others specifically responsible for pouring wine and handing over hot towels; the service was quite thorough.
Darian was instantly surrounded by a sea of white, and the scent of perfume rushed in from all directions.
There was no need to think; this must have been specially arranged by The Penguin.
Darian looked around and couldn't help but frown. "Little QQ, what kind of person do you take me for? I am an officer of Gotham City, and I have professional standards. You doing this makes it very difficult for me."
The Penguin's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no, could the other party be one of those rigid officers who doesn't like this kind of spectacle?
The Penguin thought he had flattered the wrong person. He immediately straightened his face and waved his hand at the long-legged women.
"Did you hear me? Hurry up and..."
"I'm not talking about them, but them."
Before The Penguin could finish, Darian interrupted him directly, raising his hand to point at the several burly men standing on the periphery.
"They don't look like good people at all. If someone sees us and misunderstands that I'm colluding with criminal forces, how am I supposed to survive in the Police force in the future?"
The Penguin: "..."
Good grief, so you just find men to be an eyesore.
He complained frantically in his heart, but still dismissed all his bodyguards.
Anyway, given Darian's combat power, if he really wanted to take action against him, having bodyguards or not would result in the same outcome.
The bodyguards filed out, leaving only the group of long-legged women to continue serving him.
Soon, numerous exquisitely crafted delicacies were brought to the table, and there were even dishes from the East, clearly all carefully prepared by The Penguin for Darian.
I have to say, The Penguin really had nothing to complain about in this regard; it's no wonder he could become a crime lord in Gotham City, where lunatics gathered.
The Penguin held his wine glass and made some polite small talk. After beating around the bush for about seven or eight turns, he finally couldn't hold back anymore and got to the point.
"Officer Darian, may I ask if that shorty's joy is still in your hands?"
Darian forked a piece of steak and stuffed it into his mouth, nodding vaguely. "Yeah, it is."
"That's great!"
The Penguin rubbed his hands and said with a look of longing, "Officer Darian, I genuinely want the shorty's joy. Why don't you name a price? I will definitely try my best to satisfy it."
Darian replied casually, "One billion."
Upon hearing this number, The Penguin instantly froze. "That's too much; I can't come up with that much money."
Darian looked disdainful. "Seriously? You, a dignified crime lord, can't even come up with this little bit of money?"
The Penguin's mouth twitched slightly.
I'm a gangster, not a printing press operator. Where would I get that much liquid capital?
"My businesses still need capital to operate; I really can't come up with that much at once."
The Penguin was very helpless.
Although his criminal business made a lot of money, he couldn't just pull out one billion all at once to buy a potion that only served to increase height.
Darian curled his lips. "Then there's nothing I can do. To tell you the truth, not long ago I sold some health supplements to Bruce Wayne and made a huge sum of money, at least one billion. So, I'm not short on money at all right now."
The Penguin was stunned.
What kind of health supplement is worth one billion? This is simply more profitable than ice!
Is it too late for him to switch to selling health supplements now?
The Penguin composed himself and forced a smile back onto his face. "Officer Darian, I really can't come up with one billion. However, I can use other things to compensate—businesses or land of equal value, take your pick."
Darian shook his head, his expression unchanged. "What use are those things to me? I'd have to spend time managing them; it's a waste of time."
The Penguin looked at Darian's completely unmoved demeanor and felt a headache coming on. "Officer Darian, why don't you just make a request? As long as it's within my capabilities, I will definitely do my best to fulfill it."
"Now that you mention it, I do have an idea."
Upon hearing this, the corners of Darian's mouth suddenly curled up.
"It just so happens I have some quite profitable projects in my hands that need some talent to help manage. I see you have the potential for this. Why don't you work for me? I'll open a company and let you manage it."
"I've already thought of the company name—let's call it Penguin Company. The company's image will be based on you: a round, chubby penguin, going for a cute style, focusing on approachability. What do you think of this suggestion?"
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